Currently, most of the X2-handover communication in a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network is switched centrally at a Local/Regional Switching Site. However, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on defining new applications that will be carried over the X2 interface, which is an interface used by eNodeBs (eNBs) for communicating with each other in an LTE network. These new applications include, for example, Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP), Enhanced InterCell Interference Cancellation (eICIC), Location services, etc. These applications require much higher bandwidth and are also much less delay tolerant. Thus, there is a need for efficiently routing X2 traffic at the point closest to the eNBs.
Although a given eNB may only have 20-30 neighboring eNBs at a given time, the challenge is to dynamically create a path over a Hierarchical Multiprotocol Label Switching (H-MPLS) network only for eNBs that have X2 relation. The dynamic nature of cellular planning (i.e., adding/deleting/regrouping of cell sites) makes it very difficult and operationally almost impossible to statically configure all X2 members to a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) virtual private network (VPN).